Posts Tagged ‘motivation’

I spent the weekend cleaning house and I thought I would share some of the many motivation hacks that I use from time to time… Nothing would get done with out them!

1. Light a candle or maintain your favorite fragrance in the house. I can’t clean without a good scent going. Sometimes I even like to bake something to get that wonderful aroma wafting throughout the home. Some other ideas are incense, potpourri or you could boil spices on your stove.

2. Use appropriate clothes for cleaning, scrubbing ect… I can’t clean with out some lace up sneakers on and my favorite pair of old comfy jeans. The outfit immediatly tells my brain that it’s time to work. Plus, I feel like an adorable version of June Cleaver when I’m in my dainty feminine apron with a pretty colorful scarf tied in my hair. I even have pink gloves to use when doing the dishes. My boyfriend laughs but he thinks it’s cute.

3. Listen to your very favorite music. I have playlists set up specifically for cleaning or for any type of mood I may be in. I also have tons of audio books and podcasts downloaded. For some books I tell myself that I can only listen to it when I am cleaning.

5. Exercise while cleaning! Kill two birds with one stone. Dance while dusting. Vigorously sweep and mop. Work out your arms while cleaning the windows. Make sure to use extra elbow grease.

6. Use a timer! I like to race myself by setting the timer for how long I think a certain task should take (making the bed: 2 min. Dishes: 15 min) then racing to beat the clock. This also falls under the exercise category because I always end up breaking into a sweat.

7. Pretend someone is coming over, your mother in law, your crush, your sibling or friend that you are in competition with ect… What don’t you want them to see? What would you want them to see? (I used to actually invite people over but this would always back-fire on me. Life would get in the way, the place wouldn’t get cleaned and I was left incredibly stressed out and embarrassed. Pretending is much better since I don’t have an anxiety attack from extreme mortification when it doesn’t work out.)

8. Meditate or contemplate a problem while cleaning. It’s a great time to get some serious thinking done. The repetitive motions are also very soothing if your trying to clear your mind and zone out.

9. Use cleaning as a great way to practice the ‘Action Habit’ or the ‘Do It Now’ principal

11. Remind yourself of all the benefits your children will have. Studies show that children respond positively to routines and organized/un-cluttered spaces. They do better in school and usually behave better in general.

12. Use the reverse box method. Put everything into a box, wipe off the counter and then sort thru all the stuff in the box and put back what you keep.

13. Set up daily alarm reminders on your phone. Have a calendar service txt you daily. Example: every day at 9pm have the service send a message saying “Laundry reminder! Put in new load, fold and put away the previous one.” Google calendars offers these ‘SMS alerts’.

14. Consolidate chores. Clean the bathroom during babies bath time, wipe down kitchen counters while cooking and fold laundry while watching T.V.

15. Clean as you go! Duh.

16. Play the “penicillin method cleaning game’. Clear off a small shelf or counter then imagine it’s been penicillin’d. Then clean areas near that spot then those spots until before you know it the whole room has been cleared!

17. Give yourself a sticker chart and keep track of your successes or get a jar and some marbles and once it’s full get a pedicure or buy a new book. You should always reward yourself!

19. Look at organizational magazines or pictures of beautiful spaces/homes/rooms to inspire you. I have an entire binder dedicated to cut-out pictures of beautiful rooms/homes and articles that I found to be particularly motivating.

This is everything that I can come up with off the top of my head for now. What are some of your favorite motivational tips?